Fedkowskyj To Challenge Markey For D30 Seat

Dmytro Fedkowskyj officially announced his intention to run against Assemblywoman Margaret Markey (D-Maspeth) for the seat at a press conference on Saturday. He said he had been thinking about running for the seat earlier this year, but made his plans known with the announcement.

This will be the second consecutive election cycle that Markey will face a challenger. Maspeth business owner Tony Nunziato ran against the incumbent as a Republican two years ago.

Fedkowskyj, a Middle Village resident, said he decided to run because people he spoke to told him that new representation in the district is needed and they urged him to run for the seat.

“I’ve got the support of hundreds of people in just a few weeks of talking to people,” he said.

When asked about Markey, he said that she had done a good job in the Assembly for a period of time, but that they felt her presence was not big enough in the district.

“When I’ve engaged with people in this community, they have said ‘I don’t see the current Assembly member, I don’t know what she’s about. I don’t know what she’s doing,” he said.

That is similar to the campaign two years ago, when Nunziato ran, in part, on having a bigger presence in the district compared to Markey.

Fedkowskyj laid out several initiatives he would like to work on if elected, including education, quality of life and creating jobs.

“We need to secure more funding for our public schools. We need more seats to relieve overcrowding, and we need to extend yellow bus service for some students in this district in order to safely transport our kids back and forth to school so they aren’t in danger while they walk with their parents through hazardous road conditions,” he said about his education plans.

Prior to his campaign, Fedkowskyj served as the Queens representative on the City’s Panel for Educational Policy. He is also a member of Community Board 5.

There were no CB5 members present at the announcement. Fedkowskyj said he would seek the support of all of his friends and colleagues when asked if he would seek CB5’s support.

District 30 encompasses Maspeth, Woodside and parts of Middle Village, Sunnyside, Astoria and Long Island City.